School Violence Resources Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program The U.S. Department of Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program supports strategies to prevent violence and the illegal use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs through the State Grants for Drug and Violence Prevention Programs and National Programs. State Grants is a formula grant program that provides funds to State and local education agencies and to Governors for school- and community-based education and prevention activities. National Programs carries out various discretionary initiatives such as direct grants to school districts and communities with severe drug and violence problems, program evaluation, and information development and dissemination. U.S. Department of Education efforts are coordinated with other Federal agencies, including OJJDP, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Administration for Children and Families, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Office of National Drug Control Policy. A searchable database of publications produced or funded by the U.S. Department of Education is available online at www.ed.gov/pubs/pubdb.html. For further information about Safe and Drug-Free Schools, visit www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS or call 202-260-3954. Office of Community Oriented Policing Services The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) supports several initiatives related to school violence. In February 2001, COPS awarded $70 million in grants under the COPS in Schools program to hire 640 new school resource officers to work in the Nation's schools. The grants were awarded to 348 law enforcement agencies representing cities and towns in 47 States. School resource officers act as mentors and role models and perform various school functions, including teaching crime prevention and substance abuse classes, monitoring troubled students, and building respect between law enforcement and students. Since COPS in Schools began in 1998, COPS has awarded $420 million to fund and train more than 3,800 school resource officers. COPS is conducting a national assessment of its School-Based Partnerships grant program. The grants provide law enforcement agencies with the opportunity to work with schools and community-based organizations to address persistent school-related crime problems. The assessment will show how problem analysis, a key emphasis of the program, is being implemented in grantee sites and will examine the program's effectiveness. Evaluators are currently collecting data from the sites about the final aspects of program implementation and are conducting quasi-experiments at five of the sites to determine program effectiveness. For additional details, visit the COPS Web site, www.usdoj.gov/cops, or call 202-514-2058. Hamilton Fish Institute on School and Community Violence The Hamilton Fish Institute was founded in 1997 as a national resource for testing the effectiveness of school violence prevention methods and developing more effective strategies to reduce violence in the Nation's schools and communities. Funded by OJJDP, the Institute works with a consortium of seven universities with expertise in adolescent violence, criminology, law enforcement, substance abuse, juvenile justice, gangs, public health, education, behavior disorders, social skills development, and prevention programs. Drawing on school violence research and on the expertise of leading violence prevention authorities, teachers, school administrators, and others, the Institute identifies promising prevention strategies and tests them in local schools. As those strategies are identified, tested, and refined, the Institute disseminates its findings to assist policymakers, States, schools, police departments, teachers, parents, and youth in adopting successful strategies. For further information, visit www.hamfish.org, call 202-496-2200, or e-mail hfi@hamfish.org. National Resource Center for Safe Schools Funded by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education, the National Resource Center for Safe Schools works with schools, communities, State and local education agencies, and others to create safe learning environments and prevent school violence. The Center helps schools develop and implement comprehensive safe school plans, provides onsite training and consultation to schools and communities, creates and distributes resource materials and tools, provides Web-based information services, and partners with State-level agencies to increase State capacity to assist local education agencies. For further information about the Center, visit its Web site, www.safetyzone.org, call 800-268-2275, or e-mail safeschools@nwrel.org. Additional Resources American Association of School Administrators Arlington, VA 703-528-0700 www.aasa.org National Alliance for Safe Schools Slanesville, WV 888-510-6500 www.safeschools.org National Association of Elementary School Principals Alexandria, VA 800-386-2377 www.naesp.org National Association of School Psychologists Bethesda, MD 301-657-0270 www.nasponline.org National Association of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officers Richmond, VA 804-780-8550 www.nassleo.org National Association of Secondary School Principals Reston, VA 703-860-0200 www.principals.org/s_nassp/index.asp National Association of State Boards of Education Alexandria, VA 703-684-4000 www.nasbe.org National Center for Schools and Communities New York, NY 212-636-6558 www.ncscatFordham.org National Community Education Association Fairfax, VA 703-359-8973 www.ncea.com National Education Association Washington, DC 202-833-4000 www.nea.org National PTA (Parent Teacher Association) Chicago, IL 800-307-4782 www.pta.org National School Boards Association Alexandria, VA 703-838-6722 www.nsba.org National School Safety Center Westlake Village, CA 805-373-9977 www.nssc1.org